5 Companies That Came To Win This Week

The Week Ending Dec. 2

Topping this week's roundup of companies that came to win is Amazon Web Services, which at its AWS Re:Invent conference this week jumped into the market for Internet of Things services and expanded its lineup of big data services.

Also making the list were Aruba Networks with its own new IoT technology offerings, AppViewX for launching its first partner program and committing to a 100 percent channel go-to-market model, unified communications provider ShoreTel for providing partners with more revenue opportunities by allowing them to handle cloud service implementations, and Intel's savvy hire of an executive from rival ARM to accelerate IoT initiatives.

Not everyone in the IT industry was making smart moves this week, of course. For a rundown of companies that were unfortunate, unsuccessful or just didn't make good decisions, check out this week's 5 Companies That Had A Rough Week roundup.

AWS Debuts IoT Services, Expands Big Data Lineup

Attendees at this week's Amazon Web Services' Re:Invent conference were expecting great things and the company didn't disappoint, launching new services that move the cloud computing giant deeper into the realms of the Internet of Things and big data.

On the IoT front the company raised the curtain on AWS GreenGrass, a new service designed to provide improved compute capabilities for Internet of Things devices. The service, according to AWS, will allow IoT devices to respond to local events in real time, operate offline, and reduce the cost of running IoT applications.

On the big data side, AWS is already an industry force with such services as Redshift, Athena and Kinesis. This week the company introduced additional artificial intelligence, database and analytics services that solution providers can use to build applications that make petabyte-scale analytics accessible for large and small businesses.

Aruba Networks Dives Deep Into IoT With ClearPass Profiler And IoT-Ready Switches

AWS wasn't the only company making Internet of Things news. Aruba Networks, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise subsidiary, expanded its own IoT technology portfolio this week in a bid to snag a share of a market that IDC expects to reach $1.7 trillion by 2020.

Topping the list of new product offerings is the ClearPass Universal Profiler, a network access control system that channel partners can offer as a service. ClearPass Universal Profiler automatically identifies and "fingerprints" IoT devices on multi-vendor wired and wired networks, helping protect organizations from security threats posed by unknown endpoint and IoT devices.

The company also debuted the new 2540 Series IoT-ready switches, which are optimized for small- and medium-density IoT enterprise edge deployments.

AppViewX Launches First Partner Program, Hires Former F5 Channel Chief

AppViewX wins kudos this week for shifting all of its direct customer accounts to its channel partners and launching Partner+, the Application-centric network specialist's first formal partner program.

The new program offers a guaranteed margin, access to a dedicated inside sales for demand generation, up-front market development funds based on revenue, a partner portal, rebates, product training and technical support.

While the channel has accounted for about 60 percent of AppViewX's sales, 100 percent of the company's business will be through partners next year, Channel Sales Vice President Keith McManigal (pictured) told CRN. AppViewX recently hired McManigal, a 25-year industry veteran, away from F5 Networks where he was vice president of channel sales for the Americas.

ShoreTel Puts More Cloud Services Revenue In Partners' Hands

Unified communications provider ShoreTel is letting partners take more ownership and earn more revenue when installing ShoreTel Connect Cloud services.

Under the new PartnerStart Program, ShoreTel will turn over cloud-based installations to solution providers, a move that will help partners better differentiate themselves in the market and provide better customer support from the very beginning of the sales process.

Until now, partners had to hand off new customers to ShoreTel, which would handle the implementation of cloud-based services. Partners had little control over the timing or project management of cloud service installations.

Intel Hires Former ARM Exec Tom Lantzsch To Accelerate IoT Efforts

Intel made a savvy personnel move this week when the company said it had hired Tom Lantzsch, most recently executive vice president of strategy at rival chip company ARM, as senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Internet of Things Group.

Intel said Lantzsch will serve as an "accelerant" for the chip-maker's IoT initiatives, including setting the strategy for computing solutions across IoT market segments such as manufacturing, industrial, retail, transportation and smart buildings.